The cloaked Stranger
by stream of tears
Summary: Inuyasha and the gang were in a battle, when kagome gets kidnapped. Now the group is on a desperate search to find her. But what's this? a cloaked stranger is helping them gather jewel shards? who is this person? and what does it have to do with kagome?
1. Chapter 1

"Windscar!" shouted Inuyasha as the blade of the Tetsusaiga hit the ground, sending off its lines of destruction. Unfortunately, the target that Inuyasha had been aiming at jumped out of the way.

"Dammit, hold still!" Inuyasha shouted as the demon Tykyo jumped out of the way of Sango's Hiraikotsu.

"Inuyasha!" Miroku called out, "how are we going to beat Tykyo? She hasn't even been hit by any of our attacks!"

"…... I know……" Inuyasha said, his answer coming out more like a growl. _How are we supposed to defeat Tykyo when she keeps moving? _Inuyasha thought.

"Pathetic. You mortals and a mere half demon thought you could defeat me? Well, you thought wrong!" Tykyo sneered.

"No, you are the one who is wrong Tykyo!" said a voice from behind Inuyasha. "Take this!" the being behind Inuyasha shouted as a sacred arrow shot toward Tykyo, who was perched on a ledge that was protruding from the side of the canyon

"Ha, you think that a single arrow can harm me?" Tykyo said to the priestess. Tykyo shot off of the ledge only to land on another ledge that protruded from the other side of the canyon that Inuyasha and his friends were standing in. "Nice try, Kagome, but a single arrow won't d……" Miroku suddenly stopped talking.

"What the?" Inuyasha said. "Wha….how?" Sango sputtered. Kagome just smiled.

Kagome's arrow, instead of hitting the now empty ledge, turned and followed Tykyo to the other ledge where it struck and went through her shoulder.

"Aieeeeeeee!" Tykyo cried as she clutched her wounded shoulder.

"Nice shot, Kagome!" Shippo shouted out to her from his refuge upon Kilala's back.

"Thanks!" Kagome called back. "Inuyasha!" Kagome said as she ran to his side, "Are you all right?" she asked, concern for the half demon clearly showing in her eyes. _Kagome….you came back,_ Inuyasha thought. "Yeah, I'm fine," he replied. "You're back from your time early," he said. "Yeah, well………………." Kagome said as a slight tinge of pink went to her cheeks. Show would never say what she was thinking. _Inuyasha…I came back early so that I could spend some more time with you before continuing on the search for the jewel shards and Naraku. I couldn't spend one more day at home._

"Look alive, you two!" Sango shouted as Tykyo emerged from the ledge.

"Very clever priestess, bewitching that arrow so that it would follow me to the ledge," Tykyo said, her words laced with venom. "For that you will pay!"

"Not if I can help it!" Inuyasha shouted "Windscar!" Tykyo dodged the Windscar.

"Inuyasha, she can't keep this up for long. She's lost too much blood!" Sango shouted.

"Lost too much blood, eh?" Tykyo said. "How's this for someone who has lost too much blood? Portal Whirlwind!" Tykyo shouted. The wind picked up; suddenly a spinning black void appeared out of the air. _The portal,_ Inuyasha thought.

"Quick, everyone hold onto something!" Sango shouted. Sango plunged her Hiraikotsu in to the ground and clung to it. Miroku found refuge behind some rocks.

"Kagome, grab my hand!" Inuyasha shouted to Kagome as he tried to keep himself on the ground.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted as she struggled to get to him.

"Priestess you are mine!" Tykyo screamed.

"Ahhhh!" Kagome shouted as her feet flew out from under her and she started to get sucked toward the portal.

Kagome no!" Inuyasha shouted. He lunged toward Kagome and grabbed her

hand.

"Ha ha, Inuyasha, your attempts to save the girl are in vain - even you cannot hold your ground for much longer," Tykyo hissed.

_Dammit she's right, I'm not going to be able to hang on for much longer……but I'm not going to lose Kagome!_

Kagome, seeing the struggle that Inuyasha was going through between hanging on to her and trying to keep himself on the ground said "Inuyasha."

Inuyasha looked up to meet the gaze of the girl he was trying to save. "Inuyasha, let me go; you can't keep this up for much longer," Kagome said, tears starting to form in her eyes at seeing her friend struggle while trying to save her.

"NO!" Inuyasha shouted "I'm not going to let you go, don't even think that I would do something like that!" Inuyasha said, trying to make Kagome understand.

"Inuyasha," Kagome said, tears starting to pour down her face. "I'm sorry, please forgive me." And with that Kagome let go of Inuyasha's hand.

"No, Kagome! NO!" Inuyasha shouted as he watched Kagome disappear into the portal.

"Kagome!" Miroku and Sango shouted, Tykyo started to laugh "Now the priestess is mine!" she shrieked. Tykyo jumped into the portal. The winds died down and the portal closed.

"No, Kagome!!!!" Inuyasha shouted, his voice echoing throughout the canyon and into the sky. _Kagome…why……why did you let go?_


	2. Inuyasha searches and kagome's kill pt 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the character's except for Tykyo because I created her :D

**Author's note:** I finally got done with the second chapter. Now all I have to do is write the rest of the story joy although it might take me a while to update because school just started so I am going to be busy with that :D but I will try to write chapters during the week then post them on the weekend :D

Chapter 2. Inuyasha's Search and Kagome's Kill

…………………………………………Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Kilala…………………………………….

_Dammit_, Inuyasha thought as another trail of Kagome's scent that he had picked up led to her red scarf. As Inuyasha stood holding it there was a rustling behind him as Sango, Miroku, Shippo and Kilala burst from the Bushes.

"Is it her?" Miroku said gasping for air.

"Is it Kagome? " Sango asked at the same time as Miroku as she too started gasping. (Inuyasha had them running)

"Well Inuyasha is it? Is it?" Shippo asked.

Inuyasha just turned and handed them the scarf and slowly walked away. Sango, Miroku, and Shippo watched him go.

"Poor guy." Sango said at last.

"Ya." Shippo said. Miroku nodded

"Ever since Kagome disappeared Inuyasha has been so depressed." Miroku said

"Ya he doesn't even have the heart to hit me on the head like he usually does." Shippo agreed.

Sango nodded. "Tykyo is toying with us. Leaving fake traces of Kagome's scent and leaving articles of her clothing lying around for us to find." Sango said with disgust in her voice. Shippo and Miroku looked grim.

"Well we might as well go and get Inuyasha to continue searching." Shippo said. Sango and Miroku nodded, and then they all ran to catch up to their dog eared friend.

……………………………………………………………………Kagome…………………………………………………………………………

"Unnnnnnn" _where am __i_ Kagome thought._ The last thing I remember was the portal and Tykyo………TYKYO!_ At this sudden thought kagome shot up and looked around to see if Tykyo was in the room with her. When Kagome realized she was alone she relaxed.

_Now where am __I_ She asked herself as she looked around actually taking in her surroundings. Kagome found herself in a small room that was unfurnished except for some candles that were lit on the floor and a small rug that she was lying on.

_Ok, now to get out of……_"Oh no!" cried kagome. There were no doors, or windows, no means of escape. _Great now what am I going to do?_ Kagome thought as she looked forlornly around the room, she failed to notice a figure standing in the shadows.

"Hello…….Kagome." the figure said. Kagome's head whipped around to where the voice came from.

"Who are you?" Kagome asked the figure.

"Ah short term memory loss I see." The figure said. "Well then since you don't seem to remember…." The figure said as she stepped into the light.

Kagome gasped "Tykyo."

Tykyo smiled. "It seems your memory of me has finally returned."

"Where are Inuyasha and the others? What have you done with them?" Kagome demanded of the demoness standing in front of her.

"Hm? Oh them. At the moment they are tracking your skirt down." Tykyo said.

Kagome took a double take at what Tykyo just said. "Wha….what!?What do you mean tracking my skirt down?" Kagome asked while she started to blush at what she just said.

"Look down." Tykyo sneered.

Kagome did so; she discovered that she was wearing nothing but a robe.

"Where are the rest of my clothes if Inuyasha is tracking down my skirt?" demanded kagome.

"Well they have found your socks, shoes, and your red scarf. All that's left is your skirt and shirt." Kagome sighed a little with relief._ Well at least they won't be hu__nting down my underwear_ Kagome thought.

"Now what to do with you…" Tykyo said cutting into kagome's thoughts Tykyo started to circle kagome.

"I could always just kill you…….no too messy. Then again I could always eat you, but the last human I ate tasted horrible." Tykyo rambled on in front of a petrified Kagome._ Oh great I'm hearing my own demise in the making_. Kagome thought.

"However….." Tykyo broke off in the middle of a long sentence. Suddenly Tykyo crouched down in front of kagome. "You are a priestess….so If I devour your powers…..it will make me even more powerful!" Tykyo said excitedly, obviously proud with the fact that she came up with this ingenious plan. Kagome gulped._ Oh great, my powers are going to be the death of me. Unless……..somehow I can find a way out of here._

Tykyo somehow guessed what kagome was thinking suddenly said "there is no escaping from this room. There are no doors, windows, or any form of exit." Tykyo just confirmed what kagome already knew.

_Well………if there are no exits….__I'll__ just have to make one myself._ A small smile graced kagome's lips as she reached her decision on how she was getting out of there.

"now priestess prepare to die…….."

**A/N:** sorry to leave you with a cliffy but I need to work out what happens next. I know where I want the story to go I'm just having a little trouble with figuring out how to get there….. anyway please review or I might not post the next chapter evil laughter clicky the purple button please :D

p.s. sorry if the spacing is a little weird, my computer is still having some problems so I don't really know if the spacing is right or not :D and once again if I take forever to post it's because of school.


	3. Inuyasha searched and Kagome's kill pt2

**Disclaimer:** Ok I don't own anything except for this story and random demons that I will throw in, like Tykyo

**Author's note:** Sorry it took so long to update, school is exhausting! That and I was off of my Inuyasha kick for a couple of weeks (naruto got to me) I just needed to get back in the mood of Inuyasha and look what happened when I did! You got another chapter:D sorry for any grammatical errors or anything you may spot:D And about Tykyo I kind of pictured her as a kind of cat type demon thing but I'm just too lazy to describe her so just use your imagination on what she looks like:D and now on with the chapter!

**Last time:**

_Well………if there are no exits….I'll just have to make one myself._ A small smile graced kagome's lips as she reached her decision on how she was getting out of there.

"now priestess prepare to die…….."

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………… Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Shippo and Kilala………………………………………………….

_Dammit where is she?_ Inuyasha asked himself angrily as a breeze sent the smell of Kagome his way, teasing his nose as if saying _**you'll**__** never find her**_.

"Inuyasha!" a voice called out behind him.

"Wait for us!" a second voice called out. Inuyasha turned sharply around and shouted.

"Would you hurry it up? We don't have a whole lot of time here!"

"Sorry Inuyasha but you have to remember that we are not demons and therefore need a break once in a while." The purple robed monk Miroku said as he wiped sweat from his brow.

"Miroku's right you know Inuyasha, if we keep going like this we'll just have to keep stopping more and more often, we do not have the stamina that you have Inuyasha." Sango said as she too started to wipe sweat from her forehead and neck. Inuyasha, watching his companions wiping themselves clean of sweat realized that they were not going to move unless they rested for a little while.

"Feh, go ahead and rest, I'll just come back for you later." Inuyasha huffed as he darted off along the forest trail.

"Wait! Inuyasha! You can't just leave us here!" Miroku shouted out to his silver haired friend but his shouting was to no avail. Either Inuyasha couldn't hear them or he was just plain ignoring them, Miroku's bet was on the latter one.

"Hey Miroku, do you think we really shouldn't have stopped? I mean Inuyasha's right we don't have a whole lot of time in order to find kagome. Right now Tykyo could have her or worse kagome could be….dead" Sango had to choke out that last word. The demon slayer couldn't even begin to comprehend what she would do without the young miko who had befriended her and shielded her from Inuyasha's words. Over time Sango began to think of Kagome as a sister, Sango had already lost her entire family, well except for Kohaku, but he didn't remember her. She wasn't going to lose kagome that way, at least not if she could help it.

Miroku, sensing the young slayers distress (he knew about the connection Kagome and Sango had, sisters those two are) decided he better put her mind into a somewhat peaceful state.

"My dear Sango, what you say is true but we will be of better help to kagome and Inuyasha if we have our full strength, we will only hinder them if we are too tired to think clearly and battle demons that Tykyo might send our way if she is not willing to battle us herself."

"I suppose you are right Miroku" Sango said with a sigh. Of course Miroku was right, he is always right, well almost always.

"Come Sango, we might as well try to catch up to Inuyasha, he might need our help rescuing kagome, and you know how he gets when he battles sometimes." Sango nodded her head, agreeing with Miroku. They both knew how sometimes in battle Inuyasha got a bit too cocky and didn't think about the consequences of his actions, one too many times the small group have found themselves clinging onto rocks and pieces of wood for dear life because Inuyasha put a little too much power into the windscar.

The pair readjusted their weapons (well Sango did, Miroku just kind of stood their fiddling with his robe) and took off in the direction that Inuyasha had headed.

_I hope we catch up with him before he does something stupid, or worse, does something to get himself killed!_ The monk thought as he glanced out of the corner of his eye at the demon slayer next to him. _For all of our sakes._

_………………………………__……………__………………__…………__Kagome……………………………………………………………….._

Tykyo bent down towards kagome, aiming for her neck where the blood would be sweetest and the warmest, thinking that she had the miko, but she was wrong. As soon as Kagome saw Tykyo move she brought her fist up into Tykyo's stomach causing a slight gasp to escape from Tykyo's open mouth, taking advantage of Tykyo's surprise kagome kicked her in the shin causing her to fall to the ground. Kagome started to get up off of the floor when all of a sudden Tykyo stood up.

"You're not getting away from me meat!" Tykyo said, red starting to show in her eyes.

_Good_ kagome thought_, her blood beast is starting to awaken_. Kagome smiled and started to run to the other side of the room.

"No use running meat, you can't go anywhere!" Tykyo screamed at kagome as she landed in the miko's path. Kagome swerved and started running in the other direction, but Tykyo caught her wrist and flipped her to the ground, causing the wood floor to splinter. Kagome gasped as some of the shards of wood were pierced into her shoulder and arms.

"Stop struggling meat, it will all be over soon." Tykyo said in what she thought was her sweetest voice but really it was like a rattlesnake telling a baby to go ahead and look at its fangs, it won't hurt you. But kagome hadn't given up yet, she grabbed a shard of wood with her left hand (Tykyo still had hold or her right), and twisted her body around until she was able to get a clear shot of Tykyo's side.

"Naughty, naughty meat. Didn't I tell you to stop struggling?" Tykyo said, her blood beast almost in full control now. _This is my chance_ Kagome thought as she plunged the wood into Tykyo's side.

"Aieeeeeeeeee." Screeched Tykyo clutching her side which was bleeding purple and red blood. Kagome, quickly forgotten by the demon pulled herself out from under Tykyo and once again barreled toward the other side of the room. Tykyo looking up through eyes glazed with pain, hunger, and hatred saw the miko running toward the other side of the room. _Stupid girl_ Tykyo thought _there is no escape for her now._ Tykyo lunged forward and grabbed Kagome's ankle pulling the young girl down on the floor with her. Kagome felt her ankle being pulled out from under her, and then she was falling, falling to the ground. _Oh no!_ Kagome thought _Tykyo has my ankle__! What am I going to do?_ Tykyo sensing waves of fear, uncertainty and determination roll off the miko started to laugh.

"You see why trying to fight me is pointless, I was going to make sure you had a quick death, no pain, but now I am going to make you suffer!" With that point being made Tykyo picked Kagome up by her ankle and hurled her into the wall, busting it wide open with a human shaped hole.

Kagome felt herself being lifted into the air, then let go, only she was flying across the room. _This is going to hurt_ thought kagome just before she slammed into the wall. Kagome felt the wall give way beneath her, and when she felt the coolness of the breeze and a rock underneath her head was when she knew that she was outside, she had finally broken through the wall although it was not the way she had planned.

Tykyo stumbled to the hole and looked out into the night. There, lying in a heap of rocks, wood and blood lay the miko who had dared fight her.

"Now you are dead." Tykyo said softly as she stepped through the hole out into the cool night air, she started walking toward where the miko lay. As she got closer the moon came out from behind the clouds. _Ah a full moon_ thought Tykyo as she stood a moment to admire it (why not? It's not like kagome was going anywhere) _what a perfect night for a feast upon a human __priestesses__ blood_. As Tykyo turned back to kagome she sensed something different about the girl lying before her, the moonlight bathing her in so soft a light that she looked like a fallen angel. _Something is wrong here _thought Tykyo as she approached kagome with more caution. Kagome stirred a little bit, she could sense Tykyo near, very near, but she was approaching slowly almost cautiously. _What_ _is she afraid of?_ Kagome asked herself, as she became more aware of her surroundings she felt something else too, something within her, something strange. Kagome opened her eyes and heard Tykyo gasp.

When the miko opened her eyes Tykyo found herself looking into a pair of very deep, beautiful, blue eyes. _Those eyes were not the ones she had earlier today, what is with this girl?_ Tykyo didn't get to think much on that matter for kagome said suddenly.

"This will teach you that not all humans are food and can be beaten so easily!" kagome yelled out Tykyo.

Kagome slowly got up and launched herself at Tykyo.

"No please noooooooooo!" screamed Tykyo as she saw kagome running toward her. Seconds later Tykyo's body fell to the ground, her throat slit. Her eyes glazed with terror looked off sightlessly into the dark. Kagome fell to her knees. _What just happened?_ She questioned herself. She felt strange, lightheaded almost dizzy, she couldn't have lost that much blood could she? _I have_ _to get out of her._ Kagome thought as she stumbled away from Tykyo's body and into the dark of the night. The woods, swallowing up kagome's figure as if she had never been there.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

**A/N:** and there Ya go:D let me know what you think about it. Honestly I don't really like it but hey that's just me:D Just so you know I may not post for a couple of months (November mostly) because I have signed up for the nano writing month where I have to write a "novel" by the end of November so that will take up most of my time but I promise as soon as that is done I will try to update:D Thanks for read and please, please, please Review!!!


	4. Kagome's flight and Inuyasha's search

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything except for Tykyo and other random demons.

**Author's note:** ok I know this is extremely late, school kind of got in the way of my writing. That and the computer I'm using broke down and 10 chapter s to a second story I'm writing and the next 2 chapters of this story were erased --. So I've been out of the writing mood for a while. But hopefully now I'll be able to put out a few more chapters. Sorry for the wait.

Kagome stumbled through the dark trying to find shelter, preferably someplace far away from the shed and Tykyo's corpse. Kagome shuddered as scenes from earlier that night flashed across her mind. Stabbing Tykyo in the side, being thrown through a wall, then opening her eyes to feel another presence within her and to see the fear written across Tykyo's face. She remembered how she had shouted at Tykyo in a voice that came from her mouth but did not seem to belong to her. The one thing that Kagome could not forget no matter how hard she tried was the look of horror written across Tykyo's face and the sound of her scream right before she died.

Kagome knew she did it, but a part of her wanted to deny it, deny that she could ever do something like that, but it was true, Kagome did do it. Kagome gasped out in pain as she tripped on a protruding tree root, painfully hitting her already sprained ankle, she carefully got up and looked at her ankle, it was swollen to almost twice its size and it was turning a very nice shade of purple.

_Oh great, just what I need_. Kagome thought. _There's no way I can keep going on this ankle, but I have to find somewhere safe to sleep, otherwise I know for sure I'll be killed, either by a demon, the elements or myself……….._ Kagome shook her head to rid herself of these negative thoughts and instead turned her attention to the task at hand. _Oh well, I just have to keep moving until hopefully I find shelter or until Inuyasha and the others find me_.

Suddenly something wet landed on her head, she tilted her head skywards only to be met with several more wet drops. It had started to rain, Kagome groaned_, why me?_ She thought as she tried to pull herself up off her ankle, all the while having it scream at her to stop. After she had managed to get up she took off farther into the woods, limping the whole way while trying to keep an eye out for shelter, any type of shelter at all, but she found nothing. _I have to find something soon!_ Kagome thought with urgency, she knew that she had already lost a lot of blood from her fight with Tykyo and all this running around caused her to lose much more, now the effects of blood loss were starting to show up.

Her vision went blurry causing her to run into trees, branches and bushes, but she didn't slow down, she just picked up her pace. She was starting to feel dizzy now. _Oh no_. she thought. She could feel her body wearing out, still no sign of any form of shelter. _I need to find………shelter_, that was her only thought as she raced on. Kagome ran into another tree root and fell face first into a puddle of mud. She tried to push herself up but her arms would not obey, Kagome turned her face to the side for air before slowly closing her eyes and letting sleep take over her tired body. Kagome was so exhausted and so overcome with sleep that she didn't even notice when another presence approached her and when strong arms that belonged to someone or something picked her up and carried her away into the night.

…………………………………………_Inuyasha_, Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kilala……………………………………………………

Inuyasha was jumping from tree to tree following yet another trail that could possibly lead to Kagome while yelling at himself. _If I had only been able to keep myself on the ground long enough to tighten my grip on Kagome this never would have happened! Damn Tykyo, when I get my hands on her I'm gonna rip her to….._Suddenly Inuyasha stopped and dropped down on to the forest floor and put his nose to the air, his ears twitching at the slightest sound. Kagome's scent was still hanging around in the air but it was tainted with something else, something familiar. Before Inuyasha could examine it further something or rather someone barreled into him, causing him to fall flat on his face, his mouth getting a mouthful of dirt and leaves. While he was still trying to comprehend why he was suddenly staring at the ground he realized whatever was on top of him was arguing with itself, or rather arguing with something.

several minutes earlier

"Miroku, how are we going to catch up with Inuyasha? We have no idea how far he has gotten." Sango said as she, Miroku, the small kitsune Shippo and Kilala darted down the dirt pathway through the forest, some of the villagers that they had come across said that they saw a blur of red go down, that blur of red is what they were hoping to be Inuyasha. Miroku frowned slightly; unbeknownst to Sango she had just voiced the monk's unspoken question. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at the demon slayer, he could see worry lines on her face.

"Do not worry Sango, we will catch up to him sometime, you know we always do." He said throwing a smile in Sango's direction. Sango however could not smile back, she just nodded. _We always_ _catch up to Inuyasha……..sometimes after a battle or worse_. She thought, another unpleasant imagine crossed her mind causing her to wince. The pair continued to run in silence, they were so caught up in their thoughts, Sango thinking about what would happen if they didn't catch up to Inuyasha, Miroku thinking about what Sango would do to Inuyasha if he did anything stupid that could cause Kagome harm, that they didn't think to look ahead on the path. The next thing they knew they had run into something hard and they found themselves with their faces in dirt.

"Ouch! Miroku get off of me!" Sango shouted.

"I will as soon as Kilala gets off of my legs." The monk stated as he glanced back at the big cat demon. Kilala merely grumbled. **SMACK!**

"Miroku you pervert! This is not the time! Get your hands away from me!" **SMACK**

"Ow! Sango that hurt, must you be so rough?"

"Good! And yes!" Sango shouted at the red faced Miroku who was rubbing his cheeks where you could see several handprints were turning red. Throughout this whole ordeal of yelling and smacking unbeknownst to the two above Inuyasha was getting pushed farther and farther into the dirt. Finally the half demon had had enough.

"Get off of me!" he shouted as he rocked his body trying to get Sango, Miroku and Kilala to fall off. What he said was heard by the group above more of a mumble but they got the hint when what they were sitting on started moving. They looked down in confusion to see white dog ears, silver hair, and a red kimono. _Oh no_ they all thought simultaneously.

"Hey Miroku, isn't that Inuyasha?" Shippo asked as he climbed onto Miroku's shoulder he had been wedged under Kilala's paw, he just now managed to get free

"I believe it is Shippo, what do you know, we caught up to him after all." Miroku said chuckling to himself as he rubbed his head.

"So we did." Sango said glancing at Miroku and then back down to Inuyasha in the dirt. Sango quickly got up and dusted herself off, Miroku did likewise glancing over at her and Inuyasha every few seconds as if he were afraid that one of them would attack him at any moment. After his friends got off of him Inuyasha could finally sit up.

"What the hell where you people doing? Didn't you see me standing there? Why in the hell did you just run me over huh?" Inuyasha yelled while glaring at both Miroku and Sango.

"Sorry Inuyasha, we didn't notice you until it was too late." Sango said as she tried to get the hanyou to calm down. It was somewhat working since Inuyasha didn't do a smart aleck comeback he just folded his arms over his chest and huffed out a 'whatever'.

"Speaking of which Inuyasha? Why were you standing in the middle of the road?" questioned Miroku, Sango nodded as they looked at him with curiosity in their eyes.

"I stopped because Kagome's scent………………." Inuyasha trailed off, his eyes widened slightly and he began to sniff around the air again. Miroku sweat dropped _acts more and more like a dog each day_,

" What about Kagome's scent?" He asked as he watched his comrade make a total fool of himself as he leapt around with his nose to the ground and pointed in the air.

"It changed." Was the simple reply that he got.

"Changed? But how?" Sango questioned giving Miroku a puzzled glance.

"Meaning it was normal one minute and the next it changed, it seems familiar too." Inuyasha said as he finally got off of the ground and looked at his surroundings, trying to see where the scent might lead too, but it seemed to b e coming from everywhere.

"Familiar?" Miroku questioned.

"Enough with the damn questions when I say it's different it's different alright?" Inuyasha snapped as he returned to his business of sniffing the air. _Oh…._Miroku thought. A cold breeze blew through the woods, bringing with it the scent of Kagome, Tykyo and…………….Inuyasha's eyes widened as he took off in the direction the wind was coming from, the group struggled to catch up to him.

"Hey Inuyasha, what's wrong?" Sango called up to him.

"It's Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted back. Miroku and Sango traded worried glances.

"What about Kagome?" Miroku yelled.

"She's bleeding, and hurt!" Inuyasha yelled back as he sped off into the trees. Needless to say, Miroku and Sango quickened their pace.

_Please let us not be too late_ Miroku thought.

_Hold on Kagome_ thought Sango.

_Kagome, I'm sorry, Please be alive, Please hang on…………._

**A/N: ** There you go, chapter 4. It was a bit shorter than I liked but eh it will do for now. Spring Break starts Monday so I'm hoping to get another chapter up soon. But we'll see. Ja ne! – Stream of Tears


	5. Finding Tykyo

"she's too young……

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha but I do own this plot, Tykyo, and various other demons that will appear in this story.

**Author's Note:** This chapter took me longer to write than I thought but its here now D sorry to keep you guys waiting. Please review! It's my motivation at the moment D Enjoy this next chapter.

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"She's too young…….won't survive……………clothing…………..badly hurt…….was she doing…….where?...watch over………..no harm comes………going out………amulet………be careful……..worries………bye." This is all that Kagome managed to hang onto as she slowly awoke from her deep sleep, she was still too weak from her night rampage so she couldn't open her eyes, but she was able to hear well enough, the voices were muffled so obviously they didn't know she was awake. One thing she noticed was odd was the fact that she couldn't feel her body, she knew she was attached to it……………she thought_. Maybe I'm just numb…..my body is tired so it's numbed itself….ya that's it!_ Kagome convinced herself not sure at all if her explanation even made any sense. She heard what sounded like a thud and then rustles of fabric, someone had gone outside, or inside, she didn't know where she was, in or out. She heard someone walk near where she was and she held her breath. Something cool touched her face, it was a hand, she stiffened slightly, and the hand withdrew. A voice said "Please wake up soon Kagome." She silently gasped. _How does this person know my name?_ She thought frantically, she didn't recognize the voice so it couldn't have been anyone she knew………but they obviously knew her. She shivered ever so slightly careful so as to not alert whoever was in the room with her know she was awake. The room seemed to be filled with tension and an anxiousness of something about to happen; she felt eyes on her face. Then she heard a sigh and the sound of someone walking away, she relaxed, at least they weren't going to kill her………yet.

………………………………………………Inuyasha and gang…………………………

The smell of Tykyo's scent and Kagome's blood started to get stronger as Inuyasha and the others raced on through the woods. _Dammit what is taking so long!?_ Inuyasha thought, it seemed as if he had been running in the direction of Kagome and Tykyo's scent for a long time even though it really wasn't. The smell of blood became stronger; Inuyasha knew that they were almost there.

"Get ready everyone; we are getting close to where they are." He glanced back to see his friends nod. Sango gripped her hiraikotsu tightly and raced on. Miroku simply held his staff a little higher and ran to catch up to Sango and Inuyasha. Suddenly they burst into the clearing; they all just stood there in shock.

They had expected to see Tykyo waiting for them or a demon or a trap or something, but there was nothing. Just a shack set in the middle of the clearing. They cautiously crept around the side of the shack. What they saw stunned them further. The back of the shack had a huge gaping hole in it, there were skid marks on the ground along with a dent as if someone had once been there, and over in the distance was a figure on the ground.

Inuyasha and Sango raced over to see if it was their lost friend or not, Miroku however started to explore the shack, trying to delay the shock of what or more importantly who he might see crumpled on the ground. When Miroku entered the shack he found a small blood covered rug in the middle of the floor, his heart dropped slightly. He found no means of a way in or out except through the gaping hole from which he entered. Finding nothing else he knew he could no longer put off seeing who was out on the ground dead. He sucked in a lot of air, god knows he might need it if the figure on the ground happened to be………Kagome…………

………………………………….Sango and Inuyasha……………………………………

Sango and Inuyasha raced over to the crumpled form on the ground, both silently praying that it was not their friend lying down on the cold hard earth. When they reached the body they were hesitant to look at the person's face but they were also slightly confused. Kagome had black hair and she was (well when they last saw her) wearing her school outfit. The body on the ground had neither, a flame of hope not only lit up in Sango's eyes but also in the eyes of the hanyou next to her. Both stood awkwardly, neither moving to see what both of them hoped to be true. Finally Inuyasha cleared his throat grabbing Sango's attention.

"We better see who it is." Inuyasha said, well practically whispered but none the less Sango heard him, all she could do was nod. Inuyasha gulped and bent down on his knees, hand reaching out for the poor person in front of him. His hand reached the shoulder, he grasped the fabric, and stopped, he couldn't do it. He couldn't see if this was Kagome or not.

"Do it Inuyasha, we all need to know, for a peace of mind." Came a voice next to him, Inuyasha just nodded, he didn't need to look up to know that the voice came from the monk Miroku. Inuyasha grasped the fabric on the shoulder more tightly and flipped the body over.

Sango gasped with relief, Miroku just closed his eyes with a faint smile on his face, and Inuyasha just stared down at the body of…………….. Tykyo.

_Thank god, it wasn't Kagome…………_

_That's a relief…………._

……_.it's not Kagome………._

"Well at least we know that Kagome is still alive." Miroku said as he leaned over Inuyasha trying to get a better look at Tykyo. "Looks like she had her throat slit………do you think Kagome could have done that?" questioned Miroku.

"I don't think so, but then again we don't know what went down here, it's possible but I don't really believe it." Said Sango as she too leaned over to gaze at Tykyo, she shuddered when she saw the expression of shock and horror frozen not only on Tykyo's face but in her eyes as well.

Both Miroku and Sango stood back and looked back over at the shack.

"To help us better understand what happened here we should probably try to reconstruct what happened." Miroku said, the logic side of him taking over. Sango just nodded.

"We have a shack with no means of getting in or out, which probably means that Tykyo entered the room with Kagome through that black hole." Miroku started out.

"Right, that would make sense………Judging from that hole in the wall Tykyo was thrown, Kagome was thrown, or one of the two fell through." Sango said jumping into the conversation.

"Most likely Kagome was thrown because I don't think that Kagome would have been able to throw a demon, also because if one of the two had fallen there would be an indent in the ground right beneath the hole, but there isn't, instead there are skid marks, meaning someone was sliding across the ground, and there that indent in the rocks! Clearly someone was lying there." Miroku stated further as he pointed out to Sango the skid marks and the mass of boulders.

"Yes that's true, but what happened after? How did Tykyo die? And as a matter of fact did Kagome do it or did someone or something else kill Tykyo?" Sango asked thinking out loud.

"A better question would be where the hell is Kagome….." a voice said from behind them, Sango and Miroku whirled around to see Inuyasha standing behind them with a somewhat glazed look in his eye.

"Actually that is a very good question, where IS Kagome?" Miroku murmured thoughtfully.

"And" Sango added after and afterthought. "Did she wander off on her own or did something, or rather someone take her?"

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**Author's note:** And there you are. The next chapter of The Cloaked Stranger, the one after this may take a long time to post because it's getting close to the end of the school year and I'm starting to run out of free time with finals coming up , so be patient and I'll try to post when I have some free time. Ja Ne!


	6. A day with the group

CRACK

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha, I only own this plot and random demons that will be

thrown in. (this should be obvious by now lol)

**Author's Note:** Ok I'm back with another chapter. This one was a little harder to write because I was trying to figure out how exactly too write it so that I could get to where I needed to be for the next chapter…..Anyway enjoy.

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CRACK!

"Owww! Hey Kilala! Watch what you're touching up there! What are you trying to do, kill me?" A now angry hanyou shouted up at Kilala and her riding companions.

"Sorry Inuyasha! We didn't know that branch wasn't stable!" Sango shouted down to Inuyasha as Kilala started to move on.

"Sure you are." Inuyasha mumbled as he rubbed the bump on the back of his head, while glaring at the branch that had dare fall on his head. Inuyasha scoffed and started running through the underbrush again. Inuyasha, Sango and Miroku had been searching for several days now, looking for any sign of Kagome, unfortunately they have had no luck and have found nothing. Their search was futile; it had rained the night before and had erased all possible remaining traces of Kagome and where she might have gone. The longer and longer the search went on the more worried the three of them got and the more Shippo started to cry. This was one of those times.

"Come on Shippo, don't cry, we'll find Kagome, just wait and see." Miroku said trying to cheer up the young kitsune.

"Miroku is right, Shippo, just try to be brave ok?" Sango chimed in. Shippo sniffled a little bit.

"'Kay." He said putting on a brave face. _I will be brave I will be brave_, this thought and others like it wafted through Shippo's head as the search continued.

Miroku smiled softly at the young kitsune's resolve to be brave, as he turned his head to glance at the land that was passing slowly by them. He looked down and saw the blur of red that was Inuyasha, bouncing from tree branch to ground, tree branch to ground as he searched for any trace of Kagome in the forest. He looked at Sango, who along with himself were searching for Kagome from the air. The rays of sunshine was dancing across her face, her eyes, deep brown held a deep worry with a layer of determination covering it. Her hair was pulled back from her face, sun glinting off of her hiraikotsu. He couldn't help but think how beautiful she was even with lines of fatigue and sleeplessness showing on her face. He couldn't help but think……..how wonderful it would be…………if she………………….SMACK!

"Miroku you pervert! This is not the time!" Sango yelled at the now red faced Miroku who sat behind her with a deliriously happy smile on his face.

"Oh my dear Sango, I just could not resist, you have a wonderful….SMACK!"

"Miroku…………….." Sango growled at the monk whose face was now completely red

Miroku flinched at the dangerous sound in her voice and the threatening aura surrounding the demon slayer.

"Heheheh hey Sango? You're not going to hurt me are you? Sango?" Miroku asked while slowly leaning away from her. The only response he got was a glare. He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. He looked away from the fuming demon slayer back up to the horizon where he noticed the sun getting low. He leaned over the side of Kilala and shouted down to Inuyasha.

"Hey Inuyasha, I think it's time we stopped for tonight, the sun is beginning to go down, we don't have much time left, and I doubt that it would be wise to go searching in the woods at night." Inuyasha started to grumble, saying something about how searching at night wasn't that hard………for him at least. He reluctantly agreed however.

"Ya I guess, you guys see a good place to rest up there?" he called up to Sango and Miroku, both of which quickly glanced around the area in the fading sunlight.

"There's a clearing over to your right Inuyasha, and there's a pond not too far from it." Sango shouted down to Inuyasha, who nodded his head before jumping off in the direction that the demon slayer indicated. Once the small group arrived in the clearing they dispatched to go do their jobs.

Miroku and Shippo went to go and get firewood. Sango and Kilala (the smaller version) went off to find food and Inuyasha was left guarding their stuff. Usually this was Kagome's job, that way Inuyasha could go and search the surrounding area for demons. But since Kagome was……….gone………….. He had to take over her job, and just sense what he could of the surrounding area. _When the_ _other's come back I'll go and get a better look around here._ He thought to himself, well that's what he wanted to think…….

It wasn't long until Shippo and Miroku came back with enough firewood to last the night, and Kilala and Sango came back with enough fish and berries to feed them all. The group sat in a tension filled silence as they waited for the fish to cook. Each one of them was lost in their own thoughts but they could feel the tension, and none of them knew how to relax it, usually Kagome did that……but……….Miroku sighed. The tension was starting to get to him a little bit, and now he missed Kagome's vibrant chatter with Sango and Shippo and her ability to ease everyone's nerves terribly. He knew that Sang thought the same since he could see out of the corner of his eye her glance over to his left, where Kagome would normally sit. Shippo, well everyone knew how he felt, they had caught him crying god knows how many times. And Inuyasha, well none of them really knew how he was feeling. He seemed to act like his normal self, but he seemed a bit…….strained? Miroku didn't know, and neither did Sango or Shippo. But they knew they wanted Kagome back soon.

"I'm going to go and scout the woods for any threats." Inuyasha stated as he stood up and grabbed Tetsusaiga.

"Call me when the fish is done." And with that he leapt off into the trees. Leaving the two humans and they're young demon companions gazing at the place he last stood with unreadable expressions on their faces.

The wind whipped through his hair, blowing silver tendrils into his face and stinging his face. He knew very well that there were no demons or any threats in the area, he just had to get away from the campsite, without Kagome there, even if she was normally yelling at him and giving him sit commands, it was……….different, no uncomfortable would be more like it.

When Shippo joined Kagome and himself, Kagome was kind to him and always defended him, so Shippo in turn grew close to Kagome. When Miroku joined, even though he was lecherous and flirtatious towards Kagome, she was still kind to him. Miroku knew he had a friend in her when Inuyasha was still sending glares his way. And finally when Sango joined, Kagome befriended her immediately since Sango was a women and Kagome was the only other female in the group besides Kilala who was instantly loved by Shippo and Kagome. Sango and Kagome grew close to the point that they almost seemed to be sisters. Kagome showed each one of them love and kindness, they all relied on her for that feeling, and now that she was gone. They missed that feeling even more, especially Inuyasha.

After all, he had been with Kagome the longest, so although he wouldn't dare admit it to any one else. He had grown very attached to Kagome; he dreaded the thought of what would happen when they completed the jewel. _We haven't found any jewel shards in a while……_ Inuyasha thought. _Of course not! We don't have Kagome that's why! _ Inuyasha mentally yelled at himself. All their luck with finding jewel shards was because not only could Kagome sense and see the shards, many other demons were drawn to their group because of the shards that Kagome wore in the little bottle around her neck. Some had shards, some didn't. But the group was satisfied either way. It wore them out and made resting all the much sooner much to Kagome's joy.

Inuyasha finally came to the pond that Sango told him about, he walked solemnly towards the water and looked down into it. The emotionless expression of a half dog demon stared back up at him. Inuyasha was somewhat shocked at the blank look on his reflection's face. But then again he couldn't be surprised; emotions in the past had always given him away when battling other demons. If the emotion wasn't confusion or rage he didn't show it, in the odd chance another demon saw it and used it to its advantage. The more Inuyasha stared at his reflection the more the reflection stared back, soon (as it seemed to Inuyasha), his reflection disappeared only to be replaced with memories, memories of times with Kagome.

The surprise on Kagome, Sesshomaru, and his own face when she managed to pull Tetsusaiga from his father's tomb. Seeing Inuyasha in his demon form but not running away. All the sits he got from teasing Shippo, how she would laugh at his childish antics when confronted with things from her time. All these memories and many more floated right in front of Inuyasha's face in the water. Almost like a mini movie played out for him to see and to remember, and to regret.

Soon the pictures faded away and were once again replaced with Inuyasha's reflection. He sighed and stood up and started to move away from the pond and back to the camp. With one final glance at the pond and the ever remaining question of Kagome where are you? Plaguing his mind he headed back to the ever sad and tense group.

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**A/N:** There you have it. Please review! See ya at the next chapter. XD


	7. The Cloaked Stranger Appears

**Author's Note: **Yes I know, extremely delayed update. Not entirely my fault, school got in the way and I preferred to spend my weekends catching up on lost sleep than using my already fried brain to think up a new chapter. But School is ending and things are slowing down a little, thus I have a new chapter! ^_^ Enjoy.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own and never will own the characters of Inuyasha. I only own Tykyo and various other minor demons.

Days turned into weeks for the saddened group. Hope of ever finding Kagome began to fade; now there was only a brief flicker in each of their eyes whenever the teenager crossed their minds. Except for Shippo of course. He tried to keep everyone's spirits up, saying how they'll find her eventually. He couldn't bare the thought that Kagome, the women he had come to see as his mother, may never return to them. Sango used to be the one trying to keep everyone hopeful, but it has since been passed to Shippo since she does not have the heart anymore. They hardly smiled, and when they stopped for a break not a word was spoken. They battled demons as they came but their hearts weren't in it. They declined pleas for help from nearby villages. Kagome used to always volunteer their help should anyone need it but since she was gone helping people like she used too seemed pointless if there was not the bright, cheery Kagome to scold Inuyasha the moment he started growling at a pushy peasant. Until one night Miroku finally decided that enough was enough and for the first time in weeks, when the small group stopped to rest for the night, Miroku spoke.

"We have been traveling for weeks now without any sign of Kagome." He began stating the obvious, "I have reached the point that I no longer think that we will find her, and I know that you have reached that point as well," a quick glance into the faces of Sango, Shippo and Inuyasha confirmed his statement. "Just because Kagome is gone doesn't mean we get to stop fulfilling our duties, we must help people when they ask for it, we have to continue on without Kagome, we must find the rest of the jewel shards before Naraku does. I'm afraid we have run out of time to find her, Kagome is lost to us, there is nothing we can do."

When Miroku finished speaking a heavy silence fell over the group, they looked from emotionless face to emotionless face before Inuyasha finally spoke.

"Alright Miroku, you're right. Starting tomorrow we start looking for jewel shards, without her." He bowed his head shielding his dull golden eyes with his white hair; Sango merely nodded and looked at the half demon with sympathy for him. Miroku too bowed his head and muttered a prayer for Kagome, whether she is alive or dead he prayed that it would reach her. Sleep came slowly for the small group and all too soon the morning came, and so did their renewed quest in finding the jewel shards, one member short.

……………………….One week later…………………..

It hadn't been long since that night when they decided to give up on the search for Kagome. They had battled many demons that they believed had jewel shards in their possession but really didn't and they had begun to help needy villagers again, although it wasn't the same as when they did it with Kagome. The group began to realize how much having someone who could sense jewel shards in their group was a huge asset. But they would have to deal with what they had. They were walking down a path through an overgrown forest searching for the next demon that could have jewel shards when all of a sudden Inuyasha stopped dead in his tracks, ears twitching he raised his nose to the air.

"What is it Inuyasha?" Miroku questioned as he looked around the area they were in, there was no sign of any demons or any trace of demonic aura that he could sense. In response Inuyasha growled before taking off down the path leaving the two demons and two humans no choice but to follow him. Inuyasha burst through the line of trees only to find himself in a clearing, a clearing with a powerful demon standing in the center of it, a demon with a very dark aura. When Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kilala made it to the half demons side they winced, the demonic aura of this particular demon was strong, overpowering the small group.

"So you have come, Inuyasha." The demon said with a slight chuckle as he let his violet eyes wander over the group.

"Of course I've come! Did you honestly expect that I would let someone that reeks of human blood to slip by me unnoticed?" Inuyasha asked as he pulled out his Tetsusaiga which was pulsing lightly in his hand, feeling threatened by the aura of the demon. The demon just smirked glancing down at his deep purple and blue robes which had a light stain of red around the sleeves and on his pants. Smirking he looked back at the group before him.

"I heard tale of a young miko who carried jewel shards in a bottle around her neck, the blood you see on me now is the blood of mikos that I slaughtered, unfortunately none of them had what I sought. Then I found out that the miko I was looking for traveled in a group with a half demon, a monk, a demon slayer and two smaller demons. You are hard to find I must say, but you have gotten careless within the past few weeks, leaving a trail of demon corpses wherever you went, the stench of them still hang around you. Being a demon with an acute sense of smell the stench lead me right too you."

Inuyasha growled _'Damn it, how could we have been so careless?'_ he cried out in his mind. But he knew why. Even though they had said that they would stop looking for Kagome he knew that that was where everyone's thoughts were when they were not speaking. She entered his mind frequently as well.

"I see that the one I seek is not among you." He continued, watching with blatant amusement on his face as the people before him stiffened at his reference to their companion that was most noticeably absent. "Since you do not have what I seek I shall have to kill you." A sadistic smirk found its way on his face as he jumped up in the air and sent a streak of red fire hurtling towards the group in front of him.

"Damn it!" Inuyasha cursed as he jumped out of the way, Miroku and Sango doing likewise, "Windscar!" Inuyasha shouted as he swung his sword down, striking the ground and cracking it with the amount of force he wielded it with. Sango threw her Hiraikotsu while Miroku threw sutras at the demon that stood in the clearing. All of which he dodged with ease.

"Pathetic" he spat as he glared at the pests in front of him. "Is this all that you have to throw at me?" he asked as he landed back on the ground. The four remained quiet, all contemplating a way to defeat the arrogant demon while trying to hold back their growing irritation.

"Well if that's all you have…." He said as he suddenly raised his sword, an odd red light surrounded it, and began pulsing around the blade. His aura became stronger forcing Inuyasha to kneel on the ground, gripping Tetsusaiga tightly.

"Now prepare to die!" he said as he swung his sword down, the group quickly braced themselves for impact…………….but it never came. A wave of air washed over the group whipping their hair around in their faces but nothing more. No pain shot through their bodies as they expected. Opening their eyes cautiously they saw that the demon they were fighting had found a new adversary, one who had the upper hand. The demon was still hovering in the air however his shadow on the ground had lengthened………until it was at the very feet of the newcomer. Cloaked in a robe of black with head bent low the cloaked figure held the demon in place.

"Shadow spell." Miroku murmured as the small group looked on as the frozen demon began spouting curses at the robed figure, which merely stood there, not speaking, not moving.

"Why hasn't he done anything?" Sango whispered to the monk who stood protectively beside her.

"The shadow spell, when it has been cast paralyzes whomever's shadow has been captured. In this case our floating friend." Indicating the demon with a nod of his head. Sango nodded in understanding studying the shadow caster and the captured. Suddenly the robed figure lifted its head slightly; features still masked, and seemed to fix the hovering demon in its sight. The demon in the air suddenly fell silent, eyes watching the figure warily. Finally with the raising of a pale hand that appeared from the side of the robe, the demon cried out in fury as his body disintegrated. His Shadow disappeared and his spear was sent spiraling toward the ground before sticking itself in its former master's ashes.

Tension filled the very pores of the small group as they watched the robed figure walk towards the ashes and the spear stopping just before it. The group watched in surprise as the ashes glowed purple and vanished. Completing its task the figure with the cloak turned towards the group slightly, nodded its head and began walking away towards the tree line it had come from.

"Hey you! Wait!" Inuyasha called out, his obnoxious voice echoing throughout the clearing. The figure stopped and turned slightly signaling that it was listening.

"Who are you? What the hell are you doing here?" he questioned, anger showing clearly on his features as well as apprehension. He didn't recognize the scent of this person before him but neither did he think that he hadn't run across it before. The figure simply stood there for a minute before turning back and continuing on its intended path.

"Answer me Damn it!" Inuyasha called as he raced across the clearing to the figure.

"Inuyasha don't!" Miroku called out to the red robed demon.

"Inuyasha!" Sango chimed in as they stood there helplessly, doing the only thing they could do, call out to their red robed friend in hopes that he would listen to them, but to no avail. Just as Inuyasha reached the figure, he disappeared into the very shadows of the forest. Inuyasha stopped at the tree line peering into the darkness trying to decipher anything that looked remotely like a person. Sango and Miroku quickly ran to catch up to him once they saw that he had stopped. Reaching his side in minutes they stood in silence looking aimlessly into the dark of the forest before Miroku dared to speak.

"Inuyasha, who or what do you think that was?" Miroku asked as he glanced over at his silent companion.

"I'm not sure." Was the answer he received.

"The thing we should be worrying about is not who or what it was, we should be questioning whether or not it's a friend or a foe." Sango chimed in absentmindedly petting kilala's head.

"Since it didn't kill us along with that demon I'm assuming it's not a foe." Miroku said thoughtfully, playing with the beads on his hand as he thought. "But we don't know that for sure, we best keep an eye out for our little friend." he concluded with a sigh as he hefted his staff against his shoulder. Turning away from the woods he made his way back to their original side of the field. Calling over his shoulder as he went "Inuyasha, come on, we better camp for tonight, it won't do you any good to go running off into the woods after whoever that was. It's better not to go looking for trouble, especially when we are weakened like this."

"Feh, you guys go find camp, I'm not tired." Inuyasha said as he took a few more steps into the forest

"Inuyasha!" the monk called. Flicking his ears was the only indication that Inuyasha gave that he was listening. "You are tired; don't try to act tough, that demon affected all of us, you, Shippo and Kilala especially because of his strong demonic aura." Inuyasha's ears flattened against his head, he knew Miroku was right. With one finally glance into the woods he turned and ran to join Miroku. Sango, Shippo, and Kilala joined them shortly after.

They made their way away from the clearing and they gradually fell into their tense, silent rhythm that they had gotten used to over the past week that Kagome had been gone. They found a quite clearing next to a stream and began to set up. They didn't talk, they didn't look at each other, they simply worked. Kami knows they already had enough weighing on their hearts and minds. Where was Kagome? Who was the stranger that saved them? What did he want? And the most pressing of all the questions that haunted their minds although none of them would admit it……….Was Kagome…..alive?

**AN:** Well there you have it, Chapter 7. I may not continue this story *shrugs* but I haven't completely decided yet, let me know what you guys think.


	8. The Secret in the Ashes

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Author's Note:  It has been awhile ne? I wasn't sure if I would continue this or not but seeing as I somehow got inspiration to type this chapter I'll try to stick with it a little longer. I can't gurantee that there will be regular updates now that I'm back on board (not that I updated regularly anyways) but I will try my best.

Several more weeks passed and the group found themselves always one step behind the cloaked stranger that had saved them so many weeks ago. They would hear a whisper of this stranger's whereabouts and when they would arrive all they would find was the smoldering carcass of a demon that had no doubt crossed its path and no trace of where the stranger had gone.

"Damnit!" Inuyasha yelled as he looked down at what remained of the demon that had the unfortunate luck to run across the stranger. "Why we are always one step behind whoever or whatever is under that cloak!" Neither Miroku nor Sango had an answer for him, they just watched him mutter curses under his breath and stomp around the dead demon. Suddenly Kilala took a sudden interest in the remains of the demon. Mewing softly she quickly made her way to the carcass.

"Kilala?" Sango questioned as she watched her demon cat curiously. She had never shown any interest in the remains of demons they had come across before, why should this one solicit any other reaction other than indifference from her?

Kilala mewed once again and pawed gently at the carcass which immediately crumbled into ash. Miroku, Sango and Shippo watched her curiously, each trying to figure out what she was doing. Inuyasha however was still stomping around muttering profanities at the stranger, he had no idea what was happening behind him. Kilala started pawing at the ashes mewing insistently.

"Kilala stop that!" Sango cried as she rushed over to her cats side. "You're getting the ashes all over you, now I'm going to have to-"she suddenly halted mid sentence, staring down at what the ashes revealed.

"Sango what is it?" Miroku asked cautiously making his way towards her, taking in her stiffened shoulders he did not know if it was simply because what she saw shocked her, or if what Kilala found was something sinister that held some sort of importance to them.

"You better look at this Miroku." Said Sango evenly. Stepping up next to her Miroku glanced down at his feet only to feel his eyes widen slightly.

"That's-"he began.

"Yes." Sango said quickly cutting him off, as if she were afraid that if he said what it was out loud that it would suddenly disappear.

"But how?" he questioned, crouching down next to Kilala in order to get a better look at it.

"I'm not sure." Sango replied. "I'm not convinced that it's real, it could be some sort of illusion put on by Naraku." She concluded as she swiveled her head around, as if Naraku was hidden in the trees nearby and was going to pop out at them suddenly. Her grip on her boomerang tightened.

"No need to think that my dear, it's real." Miroku said as he poked it gently, letting the purple glow wash over his fingers. "Something tells me that Naraku had nothing to do with this." He muttered as he stared at it. Kilala mewed and pushed her head against his knee, causing him to pat her head absentmindedly.

"How else would it get here? It just _happened_ to be buried in the ashes of a demon that we just _happened_ to come across? It had to have been planted here for us, to make sure we found it. This isn't something you just leave laying around." Sango said, crouching down to Miroku's level.

"Indeed. You're right, this can't just be coincidence. Someone planted this here for us to find…and they were sure we would find it…otherwise it wouldn't have been left here. But I doubt its Naraku, besides why would he give us this?" He countered.

"Well if it's not him, then who?" she questioned frowning, eyebrows knit in confusion. She glanced towards the side of Miroku's face, as if the answer to their questions were written there.

"There is one other that could have left it here…how it got a hold of this I do not know…but it seems to be the better option compared to Naraku."

"You don't mean?"

"Yes I do…I believe that the cloaked stranger that saved us all those weeks ago, put this here for us to find. He, She, It, whatever it is has to know that we're following it, why it gave this to us I don't know, but it's the best option we have right now. Unless you want to believe that Naraku put it here?" he questioned with eyebrows raised glancing out of the corner of his eye. Sango blushed and shook her head no. A sudden sadness swept through her eyes, looking at Miroku she saw the same emotion mirrored back at her.

"Do you think? Since this is here…" she couldn't finish the question, she simply bowed her head and clenched her hands into fists. At this moment in time Inuyasha decided to take over being the leader again and his brash voice washed over his companions.

"Alright let's go. There's nothing here left for us to do. Let's find the next demon and see if he has any shards." He began to move back on the path they were treading on earlier only to discover that no one was following him. He turned and saw Miroku and Sango with bowed heads next to a pile of ash.

"Oy! If you want to pray for its soul do it while we're walking! We don't have any more time to waste!" His eyes turned into slits as he stomped angrily over to his immobile companions. "Why are you still sitting there!? The thing's dead and gone! Let's get a move on, we need to find more je-"

"Inuyasha, do you really think we would remain sitting here for no reason?" Miroku's voice cut him off quickly, causing the half demon to stop in his tirade and blink stupidly at his friend.

"Well yeah! I can see no reason for you guys to stay sitting here when we got demons to kill!" he raged, glaring at the side of the monk. At Miroku's sigh Inuyasha tensed a little bit, he could sense that whatever the monk said next would not be good.

"Inuyasha…you better come see this." The monk stood and backed away from the ashes a few steps, Sango however, could not seem to find enough strength in her legs to move away. Her head was bowed with her shoulders slumped and her hand fisted on the strap of her boomerang. At seeing the demon slayer in this state Inuyasha's wariness grew even more.

"Keh. See what? All I see is a stupid pile of…" As Inuyasha looked down he suddenly lost his train of thought. _No…no…this can't be here! _He thought desperately as he sunk to his knees alongside Sango. His mouth opened and closed a few times before he decidedly snapped it shut. Looking like a fish out of water would do no good in this situation. "Are…are you sure that it's real?" He asked hesitantly after the shock wore off.

"Positive. It is no illusion…I'm sorry Inuyasha." Miroku said as he gazed at Inuyasha with stony eyes. Inuyasha's eyes closed, willing what he saw away, but when he opened his eyes it was still there. With a sad sigh he let his head drop in his hands, not knowing what else to do. For resting there at the bottom of the ashes of the demon was a small glass bottle…a small glass bottle with jewel shards…a small glass bottle that was last seen worn around the neck of their missing companion…Kagome.

"Do you think…that there's any chance…could she still be alive?" Sango choked out, not wanting to think about the possibility that Kagome, her best friend and the person she had come to see as a sister, was lost to them.

"I highly doubt it." Miroku replied. "Kagome has put so much of her time and energy into the recovery of the shards. Knowing her there is no way she would willingly give the ones we had collected so far up…which means they had to either be taken from her forcefully…or that they were taken off her dead body."

"But isn't there a chance that…if they were taken from her forcefully…that whoever took them left her alive?" Sango asked desperately, looking up at the monk. Pleading with him desperately to say that there was still a chance, however, she saw no such hope that there was such a thing in his eyes.

"I do not see how there could be. If they were taken forcefully no doubt whoever took them would not leave her alive only to hunt them down in later days and kill them. No one would be as stupid as to leave someone who had acquired jewel shards alive."

A heavy silence hung over them as they took in Miroku's words. Inuyasha's hands clenched and he stood up slowly.

"Miroku's right…Kagome isn't…wasn't…the type to give up shards so easily…there's no chance that she's alive now." His hands started to shake with rage, sadness, and bottled grief. They shook so much that his nails pierced his palms, letting blood trickle down onto the ground. "Come on…let's go." With that Inuyasha turned away from them and began to walk away, so caught up in his pain he didn't bother to turn and see if they were following.

"Come Sango…there's nothing we can do here." Miroku said as he reached a hand out to help pull the demon slayer to her feet. "We might as well take the shards…no use leaving them here for another demon to find…" Sango nodded and grabbed the small bottle before accepting Miroku's offered hand.

"Let's go." She said and walked away stiffly, following in the footsteps of their red robed friend, the bottle with the shards clenched tightly in her hand. Miroku followed slightly behind her with Kilala and a crying Shippo bringing up the rear.

Author's Note: There you have it. I apologize for any spelling, grammar or usage errors.


End file.
